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Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Buena Vista Television LLC ''' operating under the name, '''Disney–ABC Domestic Television and Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, also operating as ABC Syndication (formerly known as Buena Vista Television, Inc., also known as Disney Domestic Television), is the in-home sales and content distribution firm of the Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Content distribution responsibilities include domestic television syndication, domestic pay TV, Internet and cable video-on-demand (VOD), and pay-per-view outlets. Background ABC's first syndication arm, ABC Films (established in July 1953), was spun off as Worldvision Enterprises in March 1973 due to fin-syn laws (which have since been repealed). Despite having some TV shows and feature films, Disney only had two syndicated shows, The Mickey Mouse Club and The Mouse Factory, prior to the formation of this unit. History Buena Vista Television, Inc. Walt Disney Pictures established a television syndication unit in 1985, with Robert Jacquemin as senior vice president of domestic television distribution. None of its animated feature films were planned to enter syndication at the time. The division was incorporated as Buena Vista Television, Inc. on November 5, 1985. with its first release in the first run syndication market with Siskel & Ebert. In 1990, the company offered its first game show, Challengers, into first-run syndication. The company produced the morning business show, Today's Business, in August 1986, only to put an end to the show in April 1987, indicating that they were unable to get enough advertisers. In late 1986, Buena Vista was shopping Duck Tales for a 1987 debut, with a 4–6 p.m. placement and a 2.5/3.5 syndicator/station ad split. In 1990, the company offered its first game show, The Challengers, for first-run syndication. In late 1990 and early 1991, after launching the Disney Afternoon syndicated block, Buena Vista had considered starting a new one-hour morning block to start in 1992. On August 24, 1994, a reorganization of Disney took place in which Richard H. Frank became head of a newly formed Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications, which was split from The Walt Disney Studios and included Buena Vista TV. In April 1996, due to ongoing post Disney–Capital Cities/ABC merger realignment and retirement of its president, Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications's divisions were reassigned to other groups. Therefore, BVTV, as a part of Walt Disney Television International, was transferred to Capital Cities/ABC. In March 2007, Starz Entertainment sued BVTV for breaching their agreement by allowing movies available online through Apple's iTunes Store and other outlets. The introduction of the Apple TV device forced Starz to file suit which hinged on the "contractual definition of 'television'" and whether complete TV exclusivity was granted, as Starz then had a secondary distribution deal with Netflix. Disney–ABC Domestic Television In May 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to semi-retire the use of the Buena Vista brand, instead focusing on the three core brands of Disney, ABC, and ESPN. As a result, Buena Vista Television was rebranded as Disney–ABC Domestic Television (DADT). BVTV converted to a limited liability business form on April 10, 2009. By July 2008, DADT signed additional carriage agreements with Vudu and CinemaNow which was then added to the Starz lawsuit. On December 2, 2008, DADT and Starz Entertainment settled their online distribution lawsuit with the terms undisclosed. First-run programming Current *''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (1988–present; produced by WABC-TV) *''Right This Minute'' (2016–present; w/ MagicDust Television, Cox Media Group, Gray Television and E. W. Scripps Company) *''America's Funniest Home Videos'' (1989–present; w/ Vin Di Bona Productions) *''Litton's Weekend Adventure'' (2011–present; E/I programming block from Litton Entertainment; exclusively for ABC affiliates) *''Pickler & Ben'' (2017–present; with E. W. Scripps Company) * Tamron Hall (premiering September 9, 2019) Former *''At the Movies'' (originally Siskel & Ebert/''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') (1986–2010) *''Bill Nye the Science Guy'' (1993–1998; w/KCTS of Seattle and Rabbit Ears Productions) *''Debt'' (1996–1998; w/ Faded Denim Productions and Lifetime) *''Ellen'' (1994–1998; w/ The Black/Marlens Company and Touchstone Television) *''FABLife'' (2015–2016; w/ Summerdale Productions and The Tyra Banks Company) *''Legend of the Seeker'' (2008–2010) *''Katie'' (2012–2014) *''On the Red Carpet'' (2013–2014) *''Teen Win, Lose or Draw'' (1989–1992; w/Burt & Bert Productions, Kline & Friends and Stone Stanley Entertainment) *''The Challengers'' (1990–91; w/Dick Clark Productions and Ron Greenberg Productions) *''The Disney Afternoon'' (1990–1997) ** Duck Tales (1987–1990) ** Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989–1990) **''TaleSpin'' (1990–91) **''Darkwing Duck'' (1991–1992) **''Goof Troop'' (1992) **''Bonkers'' (1993–1994) *''The Wayne Brady Show'' (2001–2004) *''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (1999-2019; w/ Valleycrest Productions, Times Square Studios, 2waytraffic) *''Today's Business'' (August 1986 – April 1987) morning business show which cost $500,000 a month to make Category:Companies Category:Distributors Category:The Walt Disney Company Category:Disney